CountFree vs Countdown Events
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CountFree
Track important future events and past milestones with customizable widgets. View real-time countdowns and count-ups directly on your Home Screen without ads or paywalls.
- Unlimited countdowns and count-ups
- Unlimited Home Screen widgets
- Multiple widget sizes
- Four customizable themes
- Progress bars
- Custom emoji support
- Real-time updates
Read full descriptionHide full description
Track every moment that matters — right on your Home Screen. CountFree gives you beautiful countdown and count-up widgets with zero catches. No ads. No paywalls. No "premium" upgrades. Every single feature is yours, and it always will be. Whether you're counting down to a wedding, a vacation, or your baby's due date — or counting up from a sobriety milestone, a move to a new city, or the day you adopted your dog — CountFree keeps your most important dates front and center. WIDGETS THAT FEEL LIKE HOME Add countdown widgets directly to your iPhone or iPad Home Screen in small, medium, or large sizes. Pick from four beautiful themes — light, dark, sunset, and ocean — and personalize each event with any emoji. Set a start date and end date to see a progress bar that shows exactly how far you've come. It's incredibly satisfying to watch it fill up. Your countdowns update in real time. Just glance at your Home Screen — no need to open the app. COUNTS UP TOO Not every important date is in the future. Track time since meaningful moments: → Days sober → Years at your job → Time since you quit smoking → How long you've been together → Gym streak → Anything that matters to you I built CountFree because I was tired of countdown apps that lock basic features behind paywalls. Want more than 3 widgets? Pay up. Want a dark theme? Subscribe. It felt wrong. So I built the app I wanted to use — and made everything available to you. CountFree is a passion project. There are no investors, no growth targets, no ad networks. Just an app that does what it says. If CountFree adds value to your life, there's an optional tip jar and a supporter subscription to help me keep building. Supporters get a small badge as a thank-you. But you already have everything — it's just a way to say thanks. EVERYTHING YOU GET → Unlimited countdowns and count-ups → Unlimited Home Screen widgets → Small, medium, and large widget sizes → Four themes: light, dark, sunset, ocean → Progress bars with start and end dates → Custom emoji for every event → Real-time updates on your Home Screen → Works on iPhone and iPad → No account required → No ads. Ever. Download CountFree and start tracking the moments that matter. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Countdown Events
Visually track important upcoming dates with customizable widgets on your home screen. Set reminders and share live countdowns with friends. Offers a free tier with limited features and a one-time purchase for unlimited access.
- Customizable home screen widgets
- Multiple widget styles
- Personalize with photos, colors, and fonts
- Event reminders
- Live shared widgets
- Unlimited countdowns with purchase
Read full descriptionHide full description
Count down to the moments that matter most, right from your Home Screen. Countdown Events turns your iPhone into a beautiful countdown display with customizable widgets. Whether it's a vacation, birthday, wedding, graduation, or any milestone, see exactly how many days remain at a glance. FREE - Up to 3 countdowns - 4 widget styles: Classic, Flip Clock, Boarding Pass and Tear-Off Calendar - Your own photos, colors and fonts - Reminders before your event - Live widget sharing: friends get a widget that stays in sync with yours, and they only need the free app COUNTDOWN+ (ONE-TIME PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION) - Unlimited countdowns - 20+ more widget styles, including new ones as we add them SHARED WIDGETS Share a countdown and your friends see the same widget on their Home Screen, in your style. Plan the trip, the wedding or the big day together.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Countdown Events at every 9 days against CountFree's every 2 months. Countdown Events also leads on iOS requirement (18.5 vs 26.0). CountFree's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 60%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. CountFree sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Countdown Events sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for CountFree against 4.2 for Countdown Events. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 10 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of CountFree's written reviews are positive against 60% of Countdown Events's.
CountFree ships an update every 2 months, Countdown Events every 9 days. Both last shipped on November 9, 2026.
| Parameter | CountFree | Countdown Events |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (11 ratings) — better | 4.2 (10 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better | 60.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | 10 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matthew Kriel | Vincent Nguyen |
Customer experience
CountFree
Countdown Events
In-app purchases
CountFree
- Cheers$0.99
- High Five$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Standing Ovation$9.99
Countdown Events
- CountdownEvents+$4.99
Questions
Is CountFree free?
Is Countdown Events free?
Which has better reviews, CountFree or Countdown Events?
Do CountFree or Countdown Events have ads?
Which is updated more often, CountFree or Countdown Events?
Other comparisons















